Joseph vail



No. 626,640. Patented June 6, I899.

' I J. ,VAIL.

BASKET LOWEBING DEVIQE.

(Application filed Jan. 9; 1899.)

(No Model.)

1 g. 7 lol WM I Hw 9? Aw TV ii 6 him? I f z/2 ATTORNEYS m: ncmys PETERS 00v. PHoYo-uwmwunmomm 11c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH VAIL, OF OSSIAN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO Gl-IARLES E. SIVAIM, OF SAME PLACE.

CASKET-LOWERINGIDEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 626,640, dated June 6, 1899 Application filed January 9, 1899. Serial No. 7011632. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH VAIL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ossian, in the county of Wells, in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casket-Lowerin g Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the 'art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in a casket-lowerin g device for safely and conveniently depositing burial-caskets in graves and underground vaults.

The objects of my improvements are to provide a portable lowering device that is inexpensive and simple in construction, adjustable for caskets of'difierent lengths, that can be conveniently folded into a compact form for storage or transportation, and that in use will avoid accidents and painful scenes at the grave and any difliculty in recovering the sup porting-straps after the casket is deposited in its final resting-place. I attain these objects by the apparatus described in the following specification and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus with the top of the inclosing frame partly removed to show the internal construction and arrangement. Fig. 2 is a side view of the interior of one side of the frame. Fig. 3 is a plan View with the rear part folded upon the front part. Fig. 4 is also a plan view of the apparatus folded for storage or transportation. Fig. 5 is a detail of coupling of the operating-shaft; and Fig. 6 is a detail side View of the supporting-straps,to show the construction and method of connecting the straps and the automatic disconnection when the casket is lowered to the bottom of the grave.

Similar numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.

The device has a rectangular hollow frame 1 of four parts connected by hinges (marked 2) and is of suiiicient length and Width to be supported upon the soil at the sides and ends of the grave and for the casket to be freely lowered through the interior opening of the frame. Longitudinally it isin two equal sec.- tions, counterparts of each other and having duplicate mechanical apparatus, except the gearing apparatus upon the actuating-shaft, which is connected with and operated by a crank in one part alone. The sides and ends of the frame form boxes having bottom side pieces and cover for inclosing the mechanism.

The box at the head end, which is at the left hand in Figs. 1 and 2, is just twice the depth of the rest of the frame, and the rear part is short enough to fit in-against the box at the head when folded upon it, as seen in Fig. 3. WVhen so folded, the parts can again be longitudinally folded together, as shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numerals 3 3 are the inner sides of the box-frame, in which are mounted in slotted openings rollers 20 20, which support the cords 23 when the casket is being lowered into the grave. The bottom boards have longitudinalslots 4. 4, over which are blocks 5, which are adjustable lengthwise by loosening the bolts 6 6, which pass through the blocks and the slots and are secured by the nuts 7. Secured to the blocks 5 are pulleyblocks 8, having mounted Within them ordinary grooved pulleys, and at the rear end of the frame are also secured pulley-blocks 9 9, having mounted pulleys, as shown in Fig. 2.

Mounted in the front end of the box is a shaft 12, made in two sections and having at the adjacent'meeting ends a coupling formed by a hollow disk clutch, adapted when united to interlock and form a continuous shaft and when the parts of the frame are folded to detach and separate. It is obvious that when the frame is unfolded and the coupled ends are united the bearing of the sprocket-wheel at each end will prevent any disconnection. The numeral 10 indicates transverse partitions that form bearings for the shaft 12, and 10 is a partition having an aperture for the cord 23.

In one of the front end boxes is transversely mounted a shaft 16, which by worm -gear meshes with the pinion 15, mounted upon the shaft 12, and has upon its outer end, exterior to the box, a collar 18 with a crank 19 for operating the geared shaft. Upon each outer end of the shaft 12, within the box, is rigidly mounted a sprocket-wheel 1%, upon which is a sprocket-chain 21, one end of which is secured by a suitable swivel-link 22 to a pulleycord 23. The upper part of the sprocketchain is guided in the box by the roller 20, and-the under part, passing from the under side of the wheel, enters a conduit 11 and is connected by a link to a cord 27, which passes out of the end of the box and is utilized for withdrawing the cords from out the grave after the casket is lowered. One end of the cord 23 is carried through the pulley 9 and then returned and passed around the pulley 8 and secured to the supporting-strap 24C. The other end of the cord is passed around the pulley 9' and returned and passed around the pulley S and secured to the supportingstrap 24. On the inner end of one of the straps 2% is a link 2 and on the adjacent meeting end of the other strap 2% is a hook 25. The hook 25 is a plate having upon its under side, centrally located and rigidly secured thereto, a pin 26 and to the rear of this pin two rigidly-secured pins 26, one of which is shown in theside view Fig. 6. Pin 26 is shorter than pins 26, and link 28 is adapted to hook upon pin 26, and thus make a detachable coupling which unites the adjacent ends of the supportingstraps 2i and 24'. Upon these straps when socoupled the casket is placed to be lowered into the grave, and when the casket is so lowered by the operative means already described the pins 26 will rest upon the bottom of the outer case or box and the link 28 by its gravity will'drop and automatically detach from its connection with the short pin 26, thus disconnecting the coupling, and the supporting-straps can then be readily withdrawn. The operation is shown in Fig. 6, where the dotted lines indicate the position of the strap while beinglowered and the heavy line when it drops upon the bottom of the outer case or box of the casket. The cord 23 is secured in theswivel 22 by a suitable thumb-screw, and the ends are of suffieient length to pass through the pulleys, as already described, and to permit the casket to be lowered to the bottom of the grave.

As theother part of the apparatus is a duplicate of that just described, it is unnecessary to repeat the description.

The operation of my improved apparatus is as follows: The frame is placed in position with the interior opening over the grave and the ends and sides resting upon the soil. The supporting-straps 24: and 24 are drawn taut and secured in such position by means of a pin or key provided for that purpose, which fastens the crankpin l9, and the casket is placed upon the supporting-straps, and by releasing the key and turning the crank slowly in the proper direction the casket is lowered into the grave. When it touches the bottom,

the link 28 drops and automatically detaches from its engagement with the pin 26, and the ends are readily drawn back and elevated by means of the cord 27.

The movable blocks 5 can be spaced and secured so as to adjust the straps to a casket of any length.

The convenience of folding the frame into so compact a space when not in use is obvious to all undertakers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the character described the inclosing frame comprised of four sections hinged and adapted to fold into and upon each other as described and shown.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, supporting-straps having upon their adjacent ends a coupler comprised of a plate fixed to one of the straps and provided with pins of unequal length rigidly secured to said plate and a link or loop 28 rigidly attached to the adjacent end of the other strap, adapted by its gravity to be automatically released from the short pin of the plate 25, all arranged substantially as described and shown.

In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a rectangular frame comprised of four sections having hinged connect-ions and adapted to fold into and upon each other; an operating-shaft in two sections detachably connected; the wormgearing for operatin the same; the sprocketwheels having sprocket-chains mounted thereon; the cords mounted in the pulleyblocks; the straps attached to said cords and provided with an automatically-detachable coupling at their adjacent ends, and said straps adapted to support the casket when lowered in the grave by means of the operating mechanism described, and all arranged substantially as described and shown.

4. In an apparatus of the character described the combination of an open rectangular frame comprised of four hinged sections adapted to fold upon'each other as described; an operating-shaft in two sections detachably connected bya hollow disk clutch;

the worm-gearing mounted upon a transverse shaft adapted to rotate an operating-shaft having upon each end a sprocket-wheel; the sprocket-chains mounted upon said sprocketwheels; the adjustable blocks 5 having mounted thereon the pulley-blocks 8; the cords 23 mounted in the pulley-blocks; the supportstraps having the automatically-detaching hooks and links all arranged substantially as described and shown.

Dated January 3, 1 899.

JOSEPH VAlL. \Vitnesses:

ADELAIDE KEARNS, AUGUSTA VIBERG. 

